My New Job
by Free Parking
Summary: When Rima is hired at the local supermarket, she finds herself competing with a childhood friend. She soon learns that there's more than one competition that she's involved in, another one that she has less than no control over. RimaHiko! T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Target, Red Bull, Chuck E. Cheese's, the Backstreet Boys (I wish), _or _Shugo Chara! **

**And by the way, I didn't use honorifics here because this particular fic seems very . . . American.**

**And I'm still a little confused about them. Please bear with me. XD**

**This story is dedicated to my llfel.**

**If you're reading this . . .**

**Don't flame. ^_~**

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_-Rima's POV-_

"_Rima Mashiro? Please come into my office, Rima Mashiro. Thank you."_

I looked up after hearing my name being called over the intercom, as if God Himself were speaking to me.

Bah. The manager probably wants to reprimand me on my 'passive and bored' attitude again. So what if I really didn't want to be here right now?

"Rima, you'd better go. Mr. Manager doesn't like waiting long." Yaya yelled at me from across a row of booths.

"Well, I don't like _Mr. Manager_." The children at the table I was serving gave me a confused look, wondering why I didn't like working in their paradise. Their parents exchanged a glance.

"What? Would _you _be ecstatic working here?" I asked, with attitude. The mother figure shook her head. "I didn't think so. I'll be right back." I slowly trudged to the back of _Chuck E. Cheese's._

Confused? I don't blame you. I still don't see why I continue to work here, either.

See, next year, I hope to attend college. That is only going to happen if I can cough up some cash, at least enough for the initial fees. Then it's off to the magical land of student loans for me.

Sadly, registration and the textbooks themselves are rather pricey. I _need _this job, even if I hate it, if I hope to get anywhere in life.

I'm not exaggerating as much as you think.

Then again . . . I don't have it nearly as bad as Tadase, who's in the same boat. _I _didn't have to wear the mascot-like costume and take pictures with sweaty children. I only had to serve them raw carbs. Excuse me; I had to serve them _our food._

I took a deep breath outside the wooden door. If this is what I think it is, I'll be turning in my tacky nametag for good.

"Mashiro?" My manager said. I had forgotten his name a few minutes after he introduced himself two weeks ago. For now, let's call him Jimmy. Jimmy motioned to the hard-looking chair in front of his desk. "Take a seat, please." He waited about 3 seconds before he started talking again.

He liked to hear himself talk, doesn't he?

"As you can see, I am the manager of this chain." Jimmy gently fixed his nametag so it was parallel to the tag that stated he was manager, as if he were proud. "As manager, it is my job to talk to the employees about their performance."

I nodded, knowing where this was going already.

"I believe I have called you into my office more than any other employee here. And you've been here for less than two weeks!" His point?

"Mashiro, we've been getting numerous complaints about your behavior. Why can't you be more like Yaya? So full of life, bubbly, great with the children!"

Okay. That got me mad. "Well, I'm sorry I can't be as hyper as you'd like! I'm a _normal, teenage girl. _ I would have to take 3 Red Bulls every morning to reach Yaya's level!" I said, angrily.

He stared at me for a few moments. Then, sighing in defeat, he brought something up from behind his desk. Was that . . . Was that a _Red Bull?_

"No! No. It's all right. I'll be fine. It was just a figure of speech!" I said, quickly.

He nodded, and slowly returned the Red Bull to its original place. "Mashiro, you know this means we're going to have to let you go."

I figured this was going to happen sooner or later. This was my third job in two months. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. My only regret is that I didn't make it to another paycheck.

Without saying a word, I got up, and walked out his door, feeling like this has happened way too many times before. I waved goodbye to Yaya, who had already figured what had happened. I wondered for a moment what had happened to the family I was serving.

For the finishing effect, I unclipped my nametag and tossed it in the trash.

_-The Next Day-_

"Rima . . . I'm getting a little worried about you."

Amu and I were in a coffee shop a few blocks from the restaurant where she worked. Lucky girl, she probably made tons of money off tips. But I've decided, I'm not taking another waitressing job anytime soon.

She was on lunch break, I had finally told her about my predicament.

"Why? I'm glad to be out of that place . . . The pay was nice, though."

"This is, what? Your fourth job in two months?"

"Third." I said, probably a little coldly. Amu sighed and took a drink of her smoothie. I hadn't ordered anything, at this point, I was trying to save every last penny.

"You know, I could talk to Ikuto about this? I think they're hiring."

"NO! Please, please don't. I want to save the little dignity I have left."

Ikuto, Amu's fiancé, was the manager of the local Target.

"Come on, Rima. You're desperate here, I can tell. Give it a chance! At the very worst," she giggled. "At the very worst, you'll only have wasted, what? What's your new record? Two weeks of your life?" She then burst into a full giggle-attack. What a great friend.

People were starting to stare.

"Fine, fine. Just stop giggling. You're causing a scene." I muttered.

There goes the rest of my dignity.

_-One Week Later, 8 A.M. -_

One week and a few sexual favors later (the sexual favors being from Amu), I am now a Target employee.

Dressed in my new red polo and black pants, I walked through the sliding doors, only a little tired from biking a mile. The next thing I know, I was looking at the worst thing imaginable.

No, not whatever you're thinking of. WORSE.

I saw Nagihiko.

So early in the morning, too? Now my entire day is shot. Wonderful.

The same four words were repeating in my head as I slowly walked away from him.

_Please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't- _He conveniently turned around just as I was making my great escape.

"Rima? Is that you?"

Ah, crap.

"Uh, hey. Nice seeing you, but I have to go, I just realized I forgot to . . Uh . . . Feed my cat." I walked backwards towards the sliding doors.

What was Amu _thinking? _She knew I didn't like this asshole. Yet she recommended a job in which I would see him every single day.

Yes, he worked here. He was also wearing the exact same outfit.

We were _matching. _Gah.

"Wait, Rima- why are you wearing the uniform? Are _you _the new worker? Omigosh, Ikuto didn't say anything about this!"

Did . . . did he just say '_omigosh'_?

"Here, I'll show you to the office where you can get your nametag!" Before I could form a response, he grabbed my hand and speed walked down the rows of cashiers.

He _grabbed my hand._

His hand was_ touching _mine.

We were _holding hands._

It was taking me a while to process this, and I was feeling a little dizzy.

"Rima, are you okay? You look a little flushed." Nagihiko said with concern.

"You're right, I should leave, I'll find another job some-," I said, trying to get out of his now death-grip.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Why does he continue to pester?

"No, no, I'll make it, I feel fine! Honestly."

"Then, in that case, you'll be okay. We'll be working buddies!"

What, now he plays mind games?

While we were speed walking (well, he was, I was being dragged), we passed a wall entirely dedicated to the current and past Employee-of-the-Month awards. In tacky lettering, it stated that Nagihiko has been winner for the last 18 months.

I wasn't all that surprised about the Employee-of-the-Month thing, but he could hold a job for _18 months?_

We finally reached the door marked 'Manager's Office', and Nagihiko let go of my now numb hand. He opened aforementioned door to find . . . nothing.

The office was empty, but the window was open and it's curtain fluttering, which was a big hint.

Nagihiko sighed. "Bad timing, Ikuto . . . I swear, someday the superintendant is going to come, and he's going to be out on one of his adventures . . ." he muttered.

"This happens often?"

"More than you'd believe."

Hm. I've been here for less than twenty minutes, and this place was turning out to be rather interesting.

"Fujisaki! Who's the new recruit?" a voice yelled from behind us.

Was that Kukai? What was this, a former Guardian's reunion?

I looked up and saw Kukai walking towards us, along with some other person who was using way too much hair gel. He looked strangely familiar.

Nagihiko sighed. "Hello, Souma. You remember Mashiro? From grade school?"

"Oh yeah, Mashiro! I remember her!" He gave me a bear hug. My feet weren't even _touching the ground!_ "She's still so little, like a doll or something?" He swung me around, and was about to continue, but something made him stop. I took three steps away the second he so kindly set me down.

Why was Nagihiko glaring at him?

"Idiot. Don't scare her on her _first day_ here!"

Kukai was about to defend himself, but at that moment, Ikuto decided to stroll in. He walked over to the four of us, and stared at me for about ten seconds.

"Who's she?" Ikuto bluntly said, pointing at me.

"Uh, you hired me."

"I hired someone?"

"I'm Amu's friend. Remember?"

"Oh, I remember." He grinned. Creep. "I haven't gotten your nametag yet, so you can use Mari's." He reached into his pocket and handed me a nametag labeled, 'Hello, my name is: Mari. Serving Target since 1972.'

What the-

"You, Backstreet Boy," Ikuto motioned to the still unnamed person in our little huddle. He was obviously making a reference to his ridiculous hair. I had almost forgotten about him. "Show Chibi Girl around. Girly boy and Cupcake, come with me, some kid tossed his cookies in house wares. It's a job for two."

Nagihiko and Kukai shuddered, but still trailed after Ikuto.

What's with these nicknames?

I turned back and faced 'Backstreet Boy'.

"Uh, um, hi, Rima Mashiro!" He stuck his hand out for me to shake. "M-my name is Kirishima Fuyuki." His hand twitched.

What? I don't bite! . . . Often.

_-One Hour Later-_

Kirishima finally finished my tour. I don't think he went a single sentence without stuttering. He ended by saying, "B-but, you're going to be a cashier, so you don't really need to know all of this!"

What a waste of my valuable time.

"Later, Fujisaki can show you how to operate the cash r-register!" He stammered. "He's also a cashier! Souma works in customer services with me now since he didn't like being a cashier, but Ikuto still confuses him for the j-janitor, which is odd, because he's worked here the longest."

I nodded and walked back to the employee's lounge. This kid obviously wasn't going to get me anywhere.

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**Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!**

**Was it too rushed? OOC?**

**R&R? :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own SC! or Target.**

**And . . . uh, I changed my pen name.**

**But you don't care about that. On with the story.**

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_-Rima's POV, Ten Minutes Later-_

As it turns out, I share the same hours as Nagihiko. We work from 8 A.M. to 4 in the afternoon, during the weekdays. Kukai and Kirishima have to clock in earlier, as they have to set up for customer services.

"This thing opens the slot where the money is. Also, this particular register shoots out and will definitely bruise if you aren't careful." Then he muttered, "Souma thought it would be funny if he didn't tell me that on my first day."

If you haven't guessed, Nagihiko was now instructing me on the cash register. He was talking to me as if I were seven, which was really pissing me off.

We were in Lane 13, home of the faulty cash register. Nagihiko had to teach me here, since the rest of the lanes were taken. Apparently no one likes being hit in the gut by a hunk of metal.

"Ikuto says to give the customers as many coins as possible in their change, he likes to keep the 'crisp' dollar bills. Don't tell anyone this, but I don't do that, which must be what's getting me all these good reviews. That's probably why I'm the Employee of the Month. I happen to know that customers don't appreciate a bucket full of quarters."

Pfft. What a great employee.

I've learned a lot today. First, I should not ask Kukai how it went after he had to clean up someone's vomit.

Second, when around any girl (especially me), Kirishima _will_ stutter. He never fails.

Third, Ikuto is out roaming around more than he is in his workplace.

And fourth, Nagihiko is only a good employee because he goes against his boss and lies.

I would consider this a successful first day.

_-Nagihiko's POV, The Next Day-_

"Okay, kiddies. We have a problem." Ikuto had gathered all of us, his employees, for an important announcement. We were in the employee's lounge, and he was now glaring at us from his impromptu podium- a box of tuna cans that had mysteriously come from his office.

"None of you, except Girly Boy, are even trying at your jobs. You have no drive. Half of you don't even clock in on time! Yesterday, Cupcake was here at 8:23! That's almost _an hour late_, Cupcake. We still need to talk about that."

Kukai bowed his head in mock shame. He, like most of the employees, weren't taking this seriously, probably because Ikuto began his lecture with 'Okay, _kiddies_'. In which case, this was his own fault.

"Since when did you, well," Kukai began, "_care_ about this stuff?"

Kukai was making a good point, and some employees began to nod. Ever since I came here, Ikuto has been the most carefree boss I've ever had. But Rima probably doesn't know that.

To be honest, I was pretty excited about having Rima here. I've had a small crush on her since middle school, but I never had the chance to talk to her since we had completely different schedules. That, and she seemed to avoid me.

But now isn't the time for that. I'm supposed to be paying attention, if I want to keep my status as Employee of the Month, I should probably listen. I mean, he brought out the tuna cans for this. He obviously means business.

After the pointless and badly timed chatter, Ikuto began to speak again. "To be honest? I still don't care about 'this stuff', or any of _you. _I only hold those monthly parties because you guys are good cooks. That, and so I have enough leftovers so I don't have to cook for myself for a week. " A lot of the employees looked around at each other, obviously hurt.

"But, back to the subject. The superintendant happens to care, and she's been nagging me via e-mail. Stuff about customers, you guys, inventory, crap like that." _Crap like that? "In other words, be good. I'm offering an incentive here. Employee of the Month gets a raise." Rima noticeably perked up at the word 'raise'._

Oh, I will _destroy _her if she thinks she's taking this from me, even if I did just admit to liking her.

The last person to try resigned a week after competition began.

_-Rima's POV, An Hour Later-_

I figure that if I clock in on time, get good reviews, and can cashier quickly, I can take the next award.

I need to be secretive about this; we all know how competitive Nagihiko can get.

I hurried over to Lane 7, not because I particularly liked this lane, but because I didn't want to be stuck in Lane 13. Nagihiko saw this, and walked to Lane 8, the lane directly behind me. Peachy.

My first customer was an elderly woman with about half a cart full of groceries. _Activate Sweet Seven-Year-Old Attitude. _

"Hello! Did you find everything all right?" My sickeningly sweet tone almost hurt to hear. Nagihiko snickered behind me.

"Yes, thank you." She smiled at me.

I speed-scanned her groceries in silence, until I came across a bottle of wine. I had an idea.

"Ma'am? Can I see your Drivers License?" I said, while holding the bottle.

She smiled so wide, I was worried a fly would get caught in her mouth. "Yes! Of course!" She hurried and brought it out, and murmured something along the lines of, "It's been years since I was carded . . ."

As she was walking away, she picked up a review card reading, 'Tell us how our employees performed.'

While waiting for my next customer, I half turned around and saw Nagihiko staring at me, his jaw dropped. I smirked.

Take notes, kid.

_-Nagihiko's POV-_

I cannot _believe _her! She's actually serious about this, isn't she?

Well, two can play at that game.

The next person to enter my aisle was a young woman, about my age.

_Time to turn on the charm, Nagi._

"Hey, did you find everything easily?" I forced a smile.

She nodded.

Man, this girl was purchasing extremely odd things. Duct tape, rope, a butcher's knife, Cap'n Crunch cereal . . .

"So, uh, what do you plan on doing with all of this?"

She was silent for a moment. Suddenly, she burst into tears, and clutched the collar of my shirt from across the table.

"_It wasn't my fault! _HE'S the one that left!" she sobbed to me, and began telling me every detail about her failed relationship.

Rima turned her head again, and started laughing at me. She must have seen my expression.

This really isn't my day, is it?

_-Ten Minutes Later-_

Finally, she left, with a lame, "Thanks for listening." _Without taking a review card. _

I stood there, lamely, waiting for my next customer. I started watching Rima, since she was the most interesting thing here. She was serving a young mother and her three children.

Suddenly, a can flew above her head. And another, and another, it kept going on, and on . . . What was she doing?

Was . . . _Was she juggling?_

Oh, great. Now she's entertaining the customers. But where did she learn to juggle? That's what_ I_ want to know.

Is it that wrong of me for waiting for her to slip up?

I was waiting in vain, each can landed perfectly in the bag. Oh, she's good.

And the worst part about it all? Each of the three kids grabbed a review card on their way out the sliding doors.

All I know is that she definitely won't be able to beat my attendance record. I haven't missed a day of work since I started here.

_Hell, _sometimes I come in on my days off.

_-Rima's POV, The Next Day, 7:45 A.M. -_

Hm. I think this is the first time I've actually tried to make it to work on time?

Actually, I think this is the first time I've overall put effort into a job. It was exhausting.

After two attempts, I shoved my bike into the bike rack. Not very graceful, I know, but that isn't what I was going for. No, all I wanted was that raise.

I waltzed into the deserted building, rethinking that graceful thing. Maybe it'll make me seem more . . . professional. I laid my hand on the door leading to the employee's lounge, where the time clock was, to find it wouldn't budge.

I could hear music playing from within the room, so if I knocked, you'd think someone would unlock the door, right?

Wrong. I already knew _exactly _who was in there.

If he thinks that's going to stop me, then he must not know me at all.

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**Review responses~**

**-PiercingMelody-: Thank you! My, my, he **_**is **_**taking things fast, isn't he? XD Heheh, I guess she might not be having the time of her life. Your review made me laugh out loud, by the way. :D**

**Talia Windwalker: Thanks! Just the concept of Rima in such a happy environment like that made me imagine her working there, which was sort of the inspiration for this. XD **

**Luv2write and laugh: I'm glad you liked it! Hmm, psychic. XD No worries, this is indeed RimaHiko. Would I write anything else? … I had a FAN? –spazzes- Thanks for the review! :D**

**Ami-chan: Thanks! Wouldn't it be hilarious if the entire SC! cast worked at Target? I'd read that. XD Kirishima was that predictable? Hahah! All right!**

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**Review, lovely fanfiction-ers!**


	3. Chapter 3

**And now, for a poem that I found off someone else's fic:**

**Roses are red,**

**Violets are blue.**

**I don't own Shugo Chara!,**

**And neither do you.**

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_-Nagihiko's POV, Ten Minutes Later-_

HAH. She definitely won't be able to clock in on time. I intend on unlocking the door one minute past eight.

You think I'm being cruel? She is worse. Yesterday, she tripped Kirishima, who bumped into Kukai, who unconsciously punched Kirishima in response, who fell onto Emiko, who bumped into the door, which hit _me, _therefore causing me to drop the ten jars of salsa I was holding.

That long chain of events made me realize three things:

The salsa was going to stain the carpet.

Kukai was going to have to play janitor again.

And lastly, Rima doesn't mind involving other people in her sick, twisted games to get what she wants.

Knowing that, I didn't feel a hint of guilt locking her out. Besides, none of the other employees would get mad, they won't show up for another half hour.

Hm. Five minutes until eight. Rima is probably ripping her hair out right now.

Why'd the knocking stop, though?

Maybe she's smarter than I give her credit for, and already gave up.

I might as well shut my eyes for a few minutes; after all, I've already slipped my card through the time clock.

_-Rima's POV-_

Perfect! Now that he shut his eyes and still has his music blasting, he won't be able to see _or _hear me.

I took note of this while looking through the employee's lounge window (that, in my opinion, was ridiculously far from the ground).

The measures I take scare me sometimes, too.

I slid open the window that desperately needed to be oiled, hoping he wouldn't notice. Feet first, I slowly lowered myself from the thin ledge I was using to support my weight. I wonder if this is how Ikuto feels?

That is, until I lost my balance and fell flat on my face.

_-Nagihiko's POV, Ten Seconds Previous-_

I was beginning to feel guilty. I turned down my music and decided to open the door early.

I mean, what if all that yesterday was an accident?

Maybe she isn't even going for my position, after all.

Maybe she just wants to work hard.

Then I heard a shriek and saw a mass of blonde hair on the floor.

_Oh, no._

Rima looked up, saw me staring, and picked herself up faster than I thought possible. Luckily, I was faster, and intercepted her before she got to the time clock.

_-Kukai's POV-_

Huh. 7:58 A.M.

I'm still not on time, but I think this is the earliest that I've ever been to my job.

I opened the door to see . . . an interesting sight.

Rima was slung over Fujisaki's shoulder, still holding her card, as he walked away from the time slot.

She started punching him in the back, which seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

I happen to know from experience that his back will _kill _later.

. . . Or earlier. He dropped her out of pain, but that might have been because she bit his arm.

This was very entertaining. I'm glad I showed up early today!

"Did you just _bite _me?" Fujisaki yelled in shock, unaware of my presence.

Rima, who also didn't know I was here, didn't answer.

_-Rima's POV-_

SHIT! I have twenty seconds left!

I ran back towards the time clock, hoping Nagihiko was still distracted from me biting his arm.

Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Almost . . . there! Then I fell to the ground, Nagihiko on top of me.

He _tackled _me. He freaking _tackled _a girl!

Is it wrong of me to be thinking he smells good right now?

While I was busy beating the living daylights out of him, someone strolled by, picked up my card, and put it through the slot, with five seconds to spare. I was incredibly grateful.

But . . . to who?

_Kukai? _

"I knew there was something going on between you two." He told us, gleefully.

Neither of us knew how to respond to that. But we didn't have to, slow clapping started from the doorway.

_Ikuto? _I swear, half the workers here have absolutely no presence.

"Good job, Cupcake, for helping a fellow coworker clock in. You two," Ikuto paused and looked at us, while we were still on the ground, looking disgusted. "Please, no one wants to see your PDA."

-_Half an Hour Later-_

Ikuto didn't see it fit to let me work in the same general area as Nagihiko today, so I was assisting Kukai in customer service.

"So . . ." I mumbled, trying to start a conversation. Kukai was humming something that sounded suspiciously like 'We're Off to See the Wizard', and I desperately wanted him to stop.

At that moment, Ikuto walked by and set an envelope in front of Kukai.

"It's for you, Cupcake."

Aha, an instant conversation starter.

"So . . . Why, exactly, does Ikuto call you 'Cupcake'?"

Kukai looked irritated thinking about it. "Well, it all started at my first monthly party that Ikuto holds for his employees. That's where he names the Employee of the Month, by the way." Interesting. "Utau had made me bring cupcakes, complete with rainbow sprinkles, for everyone. I couldn't convince Ikuto that I hadn't been the ones to make them, and to this day, he thinks I'm all domestic. Which is probably why he treats me like a maid, making me clean up around here."

"He doesn't seem to be making any effort to remember our names."

"Oh, he knows all of our names. I know this, because one time he called me 'Coopcake'. He was obviously about to say 'Kukai', but made a terrible save. In fact, he cares about us a ton, he just never shows it."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

" . . . 'Kay."

"Uh, will you go put these in their proper places?" He motioned to a box filled with random things customers returned, like girl's jeans, SpongeBob boxers, pairs of flip flops, a 'Legend of Zelda' game, etc.

"Sure." I'd do anything to get away from this awkward silence.

_-Five Minutes Later-_

The store was strangely empty today. Hm.

In my freakish good mood, I took a shortcut and skipped down the condiments aisle while going to return a desk lamp.

While turning at the end of the aisle, I saw Nagihiko stacking salsa jars. What's with him and salsa? He was carrying ten jars of it a few days ago when I accidentally tripped Kirishima.

I decided to play a game.

_-Nagihiko's POV-_

And . . . there. I gently stacked the last salsa jars.

This was just beautiful.

Was it me, or was the store silent today? Oh well, I'd better get back to work.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

"_Boo." _Out of shock, I swiveled around to see the culprit.

_Rima? _ Since she was only about two inches away, I unconsciously took a step back.

_Into _the salsa display, and for some reason, dragging Rima with me.

_-Kukai's POV-_

"_Because, because, because, because, because!_

_Because of the wonderful things he does!"_

Great, now the munchkins' voices were ringing in my head.

Last night, I woke up to the sound of 'The Wizard of Oz'. Apparently, when Utau is stressed, she wakes up at 3 A.M. and watches old musicals.

I suppose we learn knew things every day, right?

. . . I think I might be going insane.

At that exact moment, I saw Fujisaki and Rima walk out an aisle from across the store. Only, their hair was the same shade of red. And they were covered in blood! Fujisaki even had glass shards sticking out of his skin!

They were limping towards me, connected by their hair like they were in the movie 'Avatar' or something.

Shit, what do I do?

Either I'm delusional, or this is actually happening. I'm not sticking around to find out.

"KUKAI. SOUMA." Rima yelled to me. I stopped my mad-dash to the exit, since I didn't think they were zombies. Yet. I'm totally lost.

Now that they were within ten feet, I figured it was safe to talk.

"Will one of you explain to me why you're dripping a trail of blood?"

They glanced down at themselves, then at each other, at themselves again, and finally burst out laughing.

"It," Rima laughed, "kind of does look like were, HAHAH, covered in blood!"

Fujisaki couldn't control his laughter. Nice. "We're, HAHAH, probably freaking him out- here." He gently held were his and Rima's hair were connected. "Could you unravel this, by any chance?"

It was a giant knot made of intricate little knots, all covered in the mysterious red substance.

"It's only salsa." He said, as if reading my mind.

"What's with you and salsa?" He was silent. "And, uh, would you guys mind explaining to me why you're covered in it?"

"Well, I was sneaking up on Nagihiko," I raised an eyebrow, not only because of what she said, but also because of the casual way she said his name. "No! Not like that! But, well, he turned around really fast, which probably made our hair catch on to each other's, and he fell backwards into the salsa he was stacking, dragging me along with him. It hurt."

"At least _you _didn't fall on glass. You fell on _me._" Fujisaki pointed out.

"Which was worse."

"I like to think I'm comfier than glass, actually."

"Really? Your arms are pretty bony, I think I'm getting a bruise."

"A bruise, huh? You must be in so much pain. I, on the other hand, _still _have glass-"

As amusing as this all was, we needed to sort this out, so I cut him off.

"I've got an idea."

At that moment, Ikuto walked by. He glanced at Rima and Fujisaki from head to toe, and just walked away.

Fujisaki sighed. "What does this idea include?"

_-Kukai's Plan, 3 Minutes Later-_

"Did you just hip-bump me?"

"No, I was trying to get to the plastic bags. You're _so _taking up more than half of the space."

"I'm, what, twice your size? I need room. And the scanner."

. . .

"OH MY GOD, DID YOU JUST GROPE ME?"

"What! No?"

"I THINK YOU DID!"

"B-but I told you, I was grabbing the scanner!"

"You could have asked, instead of-of-"

"If I asked, you would have said no."

"If you asked nicely, I would have given it to you."

"Fine. Can you please pass me the scanner, Rima?"

"No. Not after what you just did to me. I'm scarred."

"And that's why I didn't ask you."

" . . . "

"Why did you just slap my hand?"

"Well, I'm not giving you the chance to touch me again. I might have to get a restraining order."

"I am just trying to _do my job._"

"You're going about it the wrong way. You don't have to molest female employees to be Employee of the Month, you know."

"I told you, that was an accident! I'm sorry."

"You are not forgiven."

The sixty-something year old man they were serving eyed them nervously, and walked away.

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**Er . . . Sorry for the generic hair thing.**

**REVIEW RESPONSES~**

**Amutoluver1: Good job! You were right, indeed it was Nagi~ Virtual cookie for you. Heheh, I suppose Rima IS rather messed up. I feel kind of bad for Nagi in this fic, I'm not quite sure why, though?**

**Ami-chan: Heheh, I'll respond to all of my reviewers. I'd suggest getting an account, even if you don't write- it's REALLY fun! YOU DID? That's exactly how I pictured it! Maybe they were all chibi, too? XD**

**-PiercingMelody-: HAHAHAHAHA! I laughed for about 3 minutes about the 'TEAM RIMA!' comment! I suppose Nagi IS taking this rather seriously. XD Heh, he has music on loud so that he had an excuse not to hear her, except . . . He didn't really need it, as you found out in this chapter. Poor kid. You do too? I do that too!**

**Aquatwin: I'm glad you liked it! I thought my characters were sort of OOC, but if you say so . . . Thank you for your VERY kind review, I'm flattered!**

**DaisyDancer112: HEY DAISY! A WIN? Yessss. I'm glad you approve. Aw, I'm sorry if I offended Kirishima here. He . . . Is sort of . . . A bad guy (I'M SORRY, DON'T KILL ME!) here . . . D: You worked there? That's . . . a shock. I gasped at that. OH, NOO! NO NO! No. I guess I could have worded that better. I meant that in order for Ikuto to give Rima the job, Ikuto asked AMU for sexual favors.. Oh, forget it. XD **

**XxCookieMonsterxX: Sorry. Imma Grammar Nazi, I couldn't help but spell cookie right. XD Thank you! I'm glad you liked it?**

**Ryoko's Lost Memories: Poor Nagi. Full time cashier, part time therapist. I'm glad you thought it was funny!**

**x3sploosh: Thanks! Eheh . . . For some reason, I thought Rima would be the type who couldn't hold a job because of her attitude. Nagihiko IS too much. In general. If that makes sense. XD RIGHT? Cut Rima a break. She wants to go to college, for crying out loud! But . . . he doesn't know that yet. **

**luv2write and laugh: Aww! You read it just because I wrote it? I'm flattered~ I'm glad you thought it was funny? NO. NOT THE LOONY BIN. D:**

**12: Okay. This is intended for Lizzie-chan. Yes, the girl who is being all sad about posting her name. Last time it just came out as '12'. Grr. Moving on: Eh, he has a big part soon. And I don't really like writing Kirishima? He's just a character I don't like, and there isn't a ton about him that we know, so I had to take some creative liberties here. SHHH. Besides, he comes in a lot soon.. XD Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! REALLY.**

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**If you vote for me . . . All of your greatest dreams will come true.**

**AHAH. Watching Napoleon Dynamite.**

**But if you review for me, all of your greatest dreams will come true.**

**Only one way to try that, right? RIGHT? :DDDD**


	4. Chapter 4

**You: You filthy, inconsiderate bitch of a fanfiction-er.**

**Right. I'm really sorry about the.. –coughs- ...month long break…**

**Explanations, excuses, and responses at the bottom.**

**Me don't own Shugo Chara!, Target, Sonic the Hedgehog, and all that junk last chapter that apparently, I didn't feel the need to disclaim.**

**Oh look! We're actually getting into the plot here. Sort of.**

_

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-Nagihiko's POV, The Next Day, 7:30 A.M.–_

"Okay, Fuyuki. Do you have the plan down?"

"Yes, Fujisaki. I'm just wondering, why must I do this on her way to work?" Kirishima asked me.

_Because, you have to intercept her, distract her, and make her late._

"I read somewhere that girls have more mercy towards men in the morning."

That was a complete lie, but who knows? Maybe it's true. Right now, all I care about is my plan, 'Make Rima Late,' take two.

"Oh, okay." He spoke lightly, awkwardly shuffling his feet.

I felt guilty about using poor Kirishima here in my plan, but he would eventually get over it. And who knows? Maybe Rima would say yes.

Though that was highly unlikely, and chances are if she did say yes, I would find myself in a three-month depression.

But, for Kirishima's sake, I hoped she would let him down kindly.

_-Rima's POV, 2:30 P.M-_

I wasn't really surprised when I saw Kirishima standing outside my door early this morning. I knew it was coming; it was inevitable. These were the signs of him finally reaching _stalker stage._

But what I was surprised about was that he went through all of this trouble just to talk to me about Target inventory.

I'm pretty sure he was going to ask me on a date, but wimped out. I suppose I should consider myself lucky, but it's hard to feel lucky when you're Kirishima's next victim.

At the moment, I was quietly scanning a man's groceries. He was too busy to start a conversation, he was trying to make his obese daughter shut up.

After paying for his groceries, he left with a quiet thank-you. Feeling quite successful, I decided to take a break.

Turning around, I nearly screamed when I saw Kirishima standing less than a foot away, gazing at me with a dumbfounded face. How long had he been standing there?

I watched as he suddenly realized I was looking at him, and squeaked. His face noticeably paled.

"What do you want, Kirishima?"

He seemed to be hyperventilating, like he was nervous about something. Squeezing his eyes shut, he mumbled lowly. "Wsghaiodgj?"

I stared at him.

"Excuse me?" I probably sounded annoyed. Peeking one eye open, then the other, he squeaked again.

"Rima-will-you-go-to-Ikuto's-party-with-me?"

"Uh…" His eyes suddenly widened, as he realized he had actually said what he wanted to say. He began to look like a four-year-old girl asking for a pony.

And truthfully, I kind of forgot what he had said. That happens a lot when I'm with Kirishima.

". . . Sure?" I spoke, not quite certain what I had just agreed to.

"Thank-you-so-much, I'll-pick-you-up-at-five-this-Saturday?"

Wait . . . _What_?

"Sounds . . . spectacular . . ."

He swiveled around on his heel, and awkwardly ran back to the employee's lounge.

Nagihiko, who was leaving the lounge, winced as he was suddenly flattened against the door's frame. Kirishima had flung the door open a little too enthusiastically.

Peeling his self off the wall, he looked at Kirishima, then me, and so on until he slowly closed the door again, going back to the lounge looking frustrated.

Well, as long as it didn't involve me.

_-Nagihiko's POV-_

I pushed myself off the wall I had been flattened onto, and looked at the culprit. Why was Kirishima talking to _my _Rima?

Why did she look so confused?

And why did he look so hopeful?

Oh, this just _screamed _me kicking someone's ass.

Closing the door I was about to go through, I turned around; setting my eyes on the one person I was looking for.

I found him standing by the water jug.

Only Kirishima could press the button that released the water so awkwardly.

Waiting for him to finish pouring his water, I tapped him on the shoulder.

Apparently, it was a little hard, because he jumped a foot in the air, making sure to spill the water all over himself.

If my suspicions were correct, I wouldn't feel guilty at all.

"So . . . Fuyuki, what were you talking to Rima about?"

He grinned widely, despite having a trail of water running down his shirt. "Oh, that! You know how this morning you told me I should go for it, and ask her out? Well, I wimped out. But a few minutes ago I got the courage and bravely asked her to Ikuto's party next weekend. And get this! I did it . . . with _both _my eyes open!" he spoke proudly.

I stared at him. Apparently my staring was pretty intense, because it caused all sparkles to leave his smile, and for him to begin grimacing.

Walking around him, I slowly uncapped the lid of the water container and scooped my water out, instead of waiting an hour, doing it Kirishima-style.

"You weren't planning on asking her to that, or anything, were you?" He asked me with large, doe-eyes.

"If I was going to, I would have already. I don't wait for fellow coworkers to motivate me." I lied easily.

"Well, that's good . . ." he sighed happily, turning back to his water.

We sat in (what I thought was) a comfortable silence, until he suddenly turned to me with fear stricken eyes.

He all but started yelling at me. "OMIGOSH. What should I do now? Do I talk to her, do I drive her home? Are we _dating! _Should I send her flowers? And if I _do _send her flowers, do I send pink roses, which signify 'like', or _red _roses, which signify 'love', or-"

_Wait, LOVE?_

"Okay, first of all, don't do _any _of that. Take it slow, this is going to be your first date, which . . . isn't really a date, but . . ." The entire time I was talking, Kirishima was nodding and taking in every word I said. I think he event started to bounce a bit.

"Okay! I'm going to go talk to her now!" He said, and then high tailed it out of the employees' lounge, like the hyperactive child he was.

After this little encounter, I started to feel a little better about myself. I didn't particularly have to worry anymore; he was probably going to destroy their relationship before it started.

_-Rima's POV-_

So, it began when I was scanning groceries for this lady. She had a _crap-load_ of groceries, and it didn't help my headache when she continued to drone on and on about her cat,_ Mr. Stitches._

Apparently, it wondered into the street and got ran over. But the damage wasn't very bad, so she brought it to the vet for surgery. But when she got _Mr. Stitches _back, he had this weird discoloring in his fur. She took him back in, to find out it wasn't her cat at all. It was some rabies-infested thing that ate her supply of tuna.

. . . Interesting, right?

No.

Anyways, the story bore me to tears. But who was I to complain? I just nodded enthusiastically and speed-scanned her groceries, hoping that she would leave with a review card when I was done.

She seemed the type who liked to swap numbers, probably because she didn't have many friends (I could understand why). And from the sounds of it, she might even want a cat-sitter, even when I know nothing about cats. All I told her is that she should probably get that thing fixed.

Watching her carefully, I noticed her pulling out her cell phone, eyeing my pocket holding my own cellular device. Panicking, I looked to see she only had a few more cans of soup and some orange juice left until I'd have to make up an excuse. My eyes shifted around the room, hoping to find someone to save me from this terrifying woman.

Ah . . . Ikuto's nowhere in sight. Nagihiko was busy training another employee, and Kukai's arguing with an elderly woman about if or if she cannot return her box of cereal… No one's going to help me here.

Trying to stall for time, I slowly dragged the can of soup over the scanner at an inch-per-second. The woman stared at the can with anticipation, following it across the black rubber thing I had never learned the name of. I followed along with her gaze.

Right . . . to left. Right . . . to left.

I doubled-checked my surroundings. No one. Sighing, I finally leaned over to grab the orange juice, when I heard my name called.

"Rima!"

I whipped my head around, ready to hug my savior when I saw it was only Kirishima. Great.

"Uh . . . What're you doing here?" I suddenly wished no one came to my rescue.

"Oh . . . um . . ." Really Kirishima. "I came here to talk to you about this Saturday! You know, Ikuto's party."

"Now is sort of a bad time." Crazy Cat Lady nodded her head enthusiastically with me. Crap.

"You're right! What was I thinking? Let me help you with that!"

_Wait, what?_

I watched him as he started reaching for the orange juice in my hands.

_Hell _no. I'm just as capable as _Kirishima._

I held the carton closer to me, but he still had a firm grasp on it.

"I'm really fine, it's okay, Fuyuki."

I tried prying it from his hands, by tugging on it violently.

"Let . . . _go _K-Kirishima!" I gritted my teeth in determination, flailing the juice from side-to-side in an attempt to get his clammy fingers off of it. It only made him grip it tighter.

"No, Rima! You are too small and delicate to handle something this heavy! Can't you see how big the orange juice looks?" He sort of patted my hand, while it was still on the carton.

Now _that _pissed me off.

Kicking him in the shin, I pulled the orange juice out of his grip, glaring at him. "WOMEN NOWADAYS CAN DO ANYTHING MEN CAN DO, YOU KNOW!"

He seemed unfazed by my comment, which was rare for Kirishima. He abruptly gripped the orange juice again and tugged. "I won't allow you to be unappreciated any longer!"

Growling in anger, I gripped the juice harder. "What does that even _mean_? No, don't answer that. Just gimme the damn juice!"

He gasped at my language.

After that, everything happened so fast.

Surprised by my big girly words, Kirishima let go of the carton, just as it spontaneously combusted all over me.

I fell to the floor roughly, soaked to the skin in pulpy liquids.

. . . I really can't go a day here without getting something spilled on me, can I?

Glaring up at Kirishima, I flicked him off. He gasped even louder, looking like he was about to faint.

Oh, great. I had caught the attention of everyone scanning groceries . . .

I really just wanted to slink under the register and stay there until closing time.

. . . Until I noticed some bratty kid laughing at me. I answered by throwing a packet of gum right at his face.

Nagihiko ran over, and looked at Kirishima, like he had just destroyed his favorite action figure. I'm sure he was about to say something, but before he could, I stood up.

Shoving the receipt at the woman, I glared one last time at Kirishima before stalking off to the bathroom.

**

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Spell-check is extremely disappointed in all of your pen names, children. He wants you to think about your actions.**

**Aquatwin:** Hahah! Thanks? XD Oh, man. What was Ikuto thinking when he agreed to hire her? PAHAHAH. 'BLOODY RIMAHIKO ZOMBIE'. That's hilarious. Hmm, keep in mind that he doesn't know, it's for a reason. But right, Rima just didn't think that one through. XD

**Amutoluver1: **I sort of feel sorry for them, too… Sort of.. In a sense.. I agree, not really. XD Heh, perverted Nagi IS THE BEST! Of course not, when they're married, she'll be marveling at their beautiful children and their schmancy life togethar~ ***fantasizes*** THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWW~! :D

**LizzieGlee12:** Okay, let's see if this works. CALLING LIZZIE-CHAN AND HER UBER HOT (almost) BOYFRIEND. THIS IS FOR YOU. ^_^ Oh, man, I didn't mean for my last response to sound so bitchy (HA-HA! CAN'T SENSOR THAT, CAN YOU, FF?), it said 'FF dot net' somewhere in there, but apparently they took that out. They just, like, left the scene of the crime and junk. But RIGHT? Gel does wonders. HAHAH! HAIR CANCER? I can see you've got some legit medical training under your belt, Lizzie. XD Sorry if this didn't come as soon as you were hoping. XD

**Ami-chan:** Oh, you're so right. Kirishima is, like, Kate Goslin spawn. He should be on 'Kate plus 8'. Or is it 'Jon and Kate share 8'? Or something like that? Oh, I can't keep up with them. Last I heard, she was still going on with the show or something, even though it practically ruined her life. But right, your review. XD Team Rima? I'm still laughing about that. Aw.. I'm sorry you can't get an account. :[ Overprotective parents suck, right? Seriously? I totally didn't plan that, promise. XD

**Megu-chan:** Thank you for your uber-kind review~ I'm touched. XD Though I don't think this is one of the best, evar, thanks anyways. :D

**x3sploosh:** ME. TOO. And maybe bring a camcorder or something? They'd be hilarious here. Hmm, well, I meant to get across that he gives all his employees nicknames, but it's probably my fault for the confusion. You shouldn't see him use any real names in this fic (unless I slip up). XD Meh, Kukai did get quite a bit, didn't he? And.. he'll get more.

**Luv2write and laugh:** … Shit. I think I just got sent to the looney bin. I'M SORRY I TOOK A MONTH~! But thanks for the review, anywho~ :D

**-PiercingMelody-:** Yeah, normal dudes don't jump on top of girls just so they don't punch in their time card. They jump on top of girls for other reasons. But Nagihiko isn't like that, is he? XD Oh, you know it. Him and his zesty dips. ^_^ XDDD Oh man. WHO KNOWS HIS INTENTIONS ANYMORE? I sure as hell don't. …. No, really, I don't. I have about 3 different endings for this thing. XD O_o Thank you for the review!

**Swirly-chan:** -twitches- Grammar.. murderer.. But oh well. XD Ohyes, t'was chunky salsa. Did I not specify? XD But really? Dennis the Menace always sort of scared me in TV-show/video form. BUT DON'T GET MY STARTED ON THE MUPPETS. KERMIT FTW. Anywho. Thank you for the wonderfundle reviews~! But yesh, indeed I have seen 'Employee of the Month' with ZOMG DO YOU LUFF DANE COOK TOO? I LUFF DANE COOK. A LOT. But yes. Nagihiko's a TOTAL fruit here. He's so fruity here, he's almost.. dare I say it, a vegetable. T_T XD

**IcyBlackHandofDeath:** Oh Icy. Drama's better than comedy, and we all know it (… Or is that just me?). I want to be able to write that someday, too/instead. BUT I LOVE KUKAI TOO? ***high fives*** Thank you for your amazing reviews! They're so niiiiiicee.

**The Sky's Bouquet (Or.. Kat. XD YOU GET THE IDEA. Maybe not Kat? Probably not Kat. HI KAT, anyways):** Mmm, light-toned was indeed what I was going for. Heh, you know Kukai.. (Well, no, we actually don't, but y'know. Kukai.). Thank you for the great reviews! I'm still sort of bouncing from seeing them (I do that when I'm happy. XD I might have put myself into Kirishima here, sadly). Right, Rima's a junior (soon-to-be senior, it's summertime) here. Did I mention that somewhere? Probably not. XD

**10chibi:** Thanks! Meh, it was REALLY OOC for Ikuto to be the manager, and I sort of hate myself for it. But wouldn't it be funnier this way, instead of some OC? Or, dare I say it, a Mary-Sue? D: Oh, and I sort of need him for the climax. XD

**Apollamarine:** Thank yooou~! Heh, imagining Nagihiko and Rima hip-bumping is sort of funny, right? XD

**

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Ginormo thanks to ColainaBottle for her wonderfundle, limitless, and patient guidance. (Maybe not patient, but you understand, right?)**

**But I'm really sorry for randomly taking all of July off. A very bitchy move that I don't intend on repeating.**

**But right, sorry this chapter was so slow, and unlike the others. I think my usual writing should be back next chapter, it's just that I had writers' block. :P But this chapter was to keep the plot moving, romantically.**

**Hey, it IS **_Romance/Humor_**, after all. Expect the next chapter within a week.**

**But right. **R&R, my kittens?

_LAST THING, PROMISE. Are you Team Rima, Team Nagihiko, Team Kukai, Team Bastard With Gelled Hair, or Team Salsa-That-Somehow-Ends-Up-On-Our-Favorite-Couple? Tell Mary all of your secrets. XD _**(Credit for this idea goes to . . . *drumroll* -PiercingMelody-!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Lookie, it didn't take me a month!**

**Hah, I just realized I made both Nagihiko and Rima sadistic in this chapter. **

_

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-Nagihiko's POV, Five Minutes Later-_

I finally escaped from Kirishima's clammy grasp. Really, my red polo is all wrinkled and damp on the sleeve. Now I've got to iron it.

If you're curious as to how this disaster occurred, it was all because _Fuyuki_ to act manly and help Rima with the orange juice.

Really. Of all girls to assist, he chose the most independent, self-confident one that would very literally bite you if you offered to carry anything of hers.

See? I knew what I was talking about. He_ is _going to destroy their relationship before it takes off.

But anyways, he was such a mess, he couldn't even tell me why his knees buckled the second Rima left for the restrooms. I couldn't get him to talk; it was as if he was having a breakdown.

Right now, I'm in the hair gel aisle, plucking off every single container and putting them into my basket.

What? I had to take my anger out on Kirishima _somehow. _

It helped to fantasize about his reaction when he realized he wouldn't be able to get his special brand of gel, fifteen percent off. What will his hair look like, without it's spiky, slicked-back shape? Perhaps . . . _normal?_

I was just chuckling sadistically when Rima ran into my aisle, and to my side.

"Wh-" I couldn't even get a word out before she stuffed a tube of toothpaste in my mouth.

"SHH." She made a silencing gesture, and I couldn't help but think she looked even more like an elementary school student. "He's two aisles down, looking for me."

"Who?" I didn't even have to ask, did I?

"The idiot that spilled-," she paused. "What are you doing?" She looked into my basket, then at my hair.

Please. Girlfriend, my hair is natural.

"Do you mind putting this in the ice compartment later? It'll look suspicious if I do it." I said, holding out the basket.

"Sure, anything to avoid the registers."

"Not to be nosy, but why are you acting like a super-spy and somersaulting down the girls' clothing department?" She lightly blushed at that.

Yes, deary. Someone saw you.

"I was running from Kirishima, I guess I got a little into the act . . . "

"No, I mean, why are you running from him? Aren't you two going on a date?" I turned back, pretending to examine a shampoo bottle so she couldn't see the jealously in my eyes.

"How'd you know about that?" As if the entire city didn't hear Kirishima's and her shout-off.

"I think everyone knows about it now, Rima. And besides, who do you think he came to for advice the moment you accepted?" Oops, sorry Kirishima. Looks like I blew our little secret.

"He comes to you for- Oh, never mind. I'm running from him, because I haven't gone ten minutes without speaking to him for the past hour." I knew his was horrible when it came to talking to girls, but I never knew he was _this _bad? "He even followed me into the ladies' room! Can you believe that? I was fixing my hair when I saw him behind me, through the mirror! Can you imagine the heart attack I had? Then he just stood there and _stared_ at me until I shoved him out!"

Even _I _was surprised at that. And I was the one who's been around Kirishima and his . . . charming antics for the last year.

"Oh shit! There he is right now!"

"What! Where?" I leaned back and looked to where Rima was pointing.

But, by the time I turned back to face her, she had already disappeared behind the shelves. I saw a glimpse of the basket before she booked it towards the front of the store.

Looking at the other end of the aisle, I saw a shadow growing larger and larger. It looked like someone was wearing a 'Sonic the Hedgehog' costume, or something, but then Kirishima turned the corner.

It was that damned hair.

"Have you seen Rima?" He hoarsely whispered at me.

He was such a mess. His forehead was lined with sweat, his hair was out of place, and to top it all off, he had clearly visible pit-stains.

Maneuvering to hide the hair-gel situation, I said, "Yes, I think I saw her head towards the dairy section."

The dairy was stored in the back of the store, opposite where Rima was heading.

Smiling, he did his little jig again, and followed my false directions.

_-Rima's POV, 7:00 P.M. -_

I was still at my cash register, a few hours after a very interesting break.

I was giving off an extremely furious aura, which might be why none of the customers were approaching me. They were just shoving themselves in already full lanes, even when I had my little light on, to show that I was available.

No, not _available._ I'm not accepting dates from these Target employees anytime soon. Only bad things come from them. I'm just going to get this little situation with Kirishima over, and avoid him until I leave for college.

Being in a very sadistic mood, I was watching the even newer employee getting hit by the demon cash register in Lane 13.

It turns out Kirishima could, in fact, find me, even hiding in the little nail salon connected to the actual Target chain.

Only this time, he was sweaty. He only stopped following me when I asked him to buy me a smoothie from across the street. The nail lady joined me in laughter at the fact that there was no smoothie-place across the street.

A few minutes later, I finally accepted that I wasn't going to get any customers. Flicking off my light, I turned around, only to stifle another scream.

Nagihiko stood a few yards away, his hand raised, as if he were about to tap my shoulder.

"Uh, hey." He lamely ran his hand through his hair, making the atmosphere even more awkward.

"What are you doing here?"

"Rima!" He said my name as if it were the punch line of a joke. "Must I have a reason for visiting you?"

"Is that you telling me that this is a waste of my time?"

He opened his mouth, and I assume it was to defend his self, but before he could, we heard an agonizing scream.

"NOOOO!" This was followed by choked sobs. "WHERE IS MY MOTHER FLUCKING HAIR-GEL? I SWEAR ON RIMA'S NAME, IF YOU TOOK THE LAST OF IT, I'M GOING TO . . . "

Nagihiko and I were laughing so hard, I couldn't hear the last of his threat towards who I assumed was a customer.

"Okay, well, I'll leave you to your job, now." He wiped a tear from his eye.

Scuttling away, I noticed him shoving all the review cards into his pocket.

Already knowing what he was doing, I spoke up. "Nagihiko, what're you doing with those cards?"

He turned around, robotically. "What are you talking about, Rima?"

I glared at him, and his fake smile fell.

Yes, even he had to admit defeat after that. Handing me the review cards, he walked away, muttering something about how I really hadn't changed since middle school.

Now, all I have to do is avoid both Nagihiko and Kirishima until later tonight.

Ikuto had offered overtime to a few cashiers to stay a few extra hours, so I jumped at the opportunity. After all, I didn't have a ton to go home to.

. . . Yet, I'm pretty sure there's a law about how long teenagers can work each week, but I can't see Ikuto being one to care about that.

_-Nagihiko's POV, 9:53 P.M. –_

"F-Fujisaki!"

My name rung through the dark, cellar-like storage room, and I felt a shiver run up my spine. This room reminded me far too much of a horror movie's set. Turning my back to the boxes of canned vegetables, I found Kirishima standing at the door.

Panting, he tried to slam the door shut. Sadly, it just swung open again, then closed, and so on. I was more intrigued by the door than Kirishima, to be honest.

He stiffly walked down the aisle to me, his nose up and shoulders back. Smirking a little, I recalled that that was how I had taught him to approach Rima.

"Yes, Fuyuki?" His expression changed a bit when he noticed I was more amused than intimidated.

"I've come to talk to you about my Rima." He nodded a little at the end of his statement.

"You know, I don't know how she would react if she heard you being so possessive of her."

"Ohhhh?" He dragged out the end of his 'oh', as if it made a difference in what he said. "Are you sure you aren't just jealous? Because I've been watching you, Fujisaki." I mentally shuddered, reminding myself the pull the blinds in every window in my house tonight. "And I've come to realize that _you _are every bit as infatuated with my Rima as _I _am."

A little pissed that he dared put us on the same level, I leaned against the stacks of boxes, crossing my arms. "Can you get on with what you came here to tell me? I've got to get going," I checked my watch, "it's only five minutes until closing time."

Subconsciously copying me, he also folded his arms.

"I want you to stay away from my beloved. I saw you talking to her, today, and that isn't all right with me. _I'm _taking her to the party."

"What makes you think you can stop me from- wait, did you just say _beloved?_"

Nodding again, he continued as if I didn't just scoff. "If everything goes as planned, we'll be married at the age of 25, and will have seven kids by the age of 34."

I went along with it, to humor him. "Seven?"

He nodded for the second time. "The magical number, according to Dumbledore."

Does he get all his reasoning from these books? It would explain a lot.

"Right. Well, I'm sorry that I have to break your idea of a perfect future here, but you can't stop me from talking to Rima. Or as you make it sound, making advances on Rima. Because no matter what you may say, she's her own person, and-"

Right as I was about to perform my Women's Rights speech, he interrupted me.

"Sure, sure, but that was the wrong answer. It doesn't matter anymore, because it's officially ten o'clock."

Raising an eyebrow, I pushed myself off the wall, and faced him.

"That means that all the other employees have gone home, and more importantly, it means that . . ." He paused for dramatic effect. I could tell, because he began grinning evilly. "The sliding doors are now locked, and will be until tomorrow morning. I took the liberty of locking every other exit of this building, too. This is your punishment."

"Wait, let me get this straight. For talking to Rima, you're punishing me by locking me in, here? . . . I'm somewhat impressed, Fuyuki."

He nodded, excited. "Isn't it a great plan? I even had all the small-talk figured out beforehand, so you wouldn't be able to just leave!"

A little relieved, I said, "So all that about your and Rima's future was all a gimmick?"

"Of course. I want twelve kids!" He began running out the back door conveniently placed in the storage room. "Oh, and don't bother with this door, I'm locking it, too."

I stayed in place, laughing at him in my head. I knew exactly where the keys to this place were. Ikuto had told me, ahead of time, in case something happened.

Apparently, I'm the most responsible one here.

"Have a good night, Fujisaki!"

I let a chuckle escape. "You, too!" I began walking into the actual store, until I heard his voice, one last time.

"Did I not mention? I'm cutting the electricity in the main room of the store, so you can't find the keys that I also hid. Bye!"

". . . Do us all a favor and get run over on your way home, okay, Fuyuki?"

But he had already left.

The store was already pitch black.

Which made the blood-curling scream coming from the ladies' room even more intense.

**

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Apollamarine:** Thanks! Oh, me either. He isn't a really likeable character, though, is he? I mean, before I wrote this, I rewatched episode 69.. He really shows some stalker characteristics.

**x3sploosh:** I inwardly cringed at the 'finally' in 'you finally updated!'. I'm sorry I suck so much. XP Looking back on it, I was really cruel to Kirishima.. XD I can't answer any of those questions, 'cause then I'd ruin it for you, but I will agree with Ikuto= Awesome Boss. But thanks for your review!

**Aquatwin:** Heheh, very true. :D OOH, a tee? XD I might have to see that. And ack, I'm glad someone liked it, it really ticked me off, for some reason. Maybe it was the OOC Nagi? Oh, man. He did seem really stupid. But right, I hope this works better. Thank you veery much, anyways!

**riri-chi:** Mmm. I wouldn't say 'stalker womanizer'. Maybe 'stalker who attempts to womanize but fails miserably'. Oh, man. Kirishima NEEDS that lesson. Apparently, he just didn't learn in this chapter. XD Thanks for the review~

**xXLilPandaXx:** Thanks! But really? ME TOO. Actually, I did, just a week or so ago, and probably freaked out some other customers by examining the entire store, just looking for ideas I could add in. XD

**amutoluver1:** HAHAH! Thank yooou! I'm TR too, sort of, but I really shouldn't be choosing sides. XD So many questions! But, alas, I cannot answer them. NO SPOILERS FOR NIA-CHAN. NONE. XD

**StrawBerryMii-chan:** He is really dorky, isn't he? (Oh, man. There are tons of other words I would've used for him. XD) He.. overreacts when it comes to Rima, doesn't he?

**Luv2write and laugh:** … Um… That.. actually freaked me out. XD IS THIS FAST ENOUGH FOR YOOU? But meh, I start school August 18th. When I start school, updates will be… even slower. I'M SORRY, I put school first. T_T D:

**ami38:** Mary's confused, is this ami-chaaan? D: XD But eek. Kirishima just doesn't have great characteristics, does he? OOH, I like their stories too~ THANKS FOR THE REVIEW~

**Vidka:** Oh, my goodness. I really hate myself for the POV switching. It bugs me, too. If I could, I would've went back and written this in third person, so I wouldn't be dealing with this, but I wrote this waaay back when I didn't know the things I know now. XD I have this weird thing with consistency, so there'll probably be more POV changes throughout this story, but I'm still trying to cut back. But thank you for your kind reviews!

**LizzieGlee12: **Once again, your review made me laugh. XD Sure, scalp cancer, I'll wikipedia that to see if it exists when I'm done. XD Ah.. right. I'm sorry for the lack of Kirishima bashing, and I hate to say that I actually have a happy (Rima-less) ending figured out for Kirishima. D: But thanks agaaaain for your reviews! ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ (need I say more?)

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**Important-ish: I'm not going to respond to everyone starting next chapter, only my anonymous reviewers, because it's starting to take up a lot of space in these chapters. I already tried cutting back (see above), and it isn't working, so I'll just send them over the nifty little message system FFN has going (yes, I finally discovered that a few weeks back). Hopefully, that won't affect whether you'll review or not. But meh. I won't blame any of you.**

**Erm.. I'm sorry if you hate me for the lame-O cliff-hanger here.. Next chapter'll be up... Soon?**

R&R?


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